Stiles’ Managed Office Towers Win Building of the Year Awards
Three office towers managed by Stiles in the Las Olas corridor of downtown Fort Lauderdale won the Outstanding Building of the Year (TOBY) Award from the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA) Fort Lauderdale/Palm Beach.
One tower in particular also placed in the top five percent in the 2011 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) National ENERGY STAR® competition – the national mark of excellence in energy performance – by meeting stringent EPA guidelines.
These recognitions are a tribute to the cost-saving sustainability program of Stiles Property Management, the third largest Property Management firm in South Florida. According to Stiles Property Management President Chris Rotolo, Stiles’ sustainability program has shown to reduce operating expenses by approximately ten percent compared to similar buildings.
350 and 450 Las Olas Centre – Owned by USAA Real Estate Company and led by Senior Property Manager Kim Burns, this is the first TOBY this building has won in over ten years. Awarded in the category of Outstanding Buildings between 250,000-499,999 square feet, all facets of a building’s operations are thoroughly evaluated, including site management, sustainable policies and practices and community involvement. Located at 350 and 450 East Las Olas Boulevard, the 18 and 14-story tower buildings, totaling 259,607 square feet and 209,746 square feet, respectively, share street-level retail and parking space on prestigious Las Olas Boulevard. The combined property is leased primarily to office tenants that include Huizenga Holdings, Wells Fargo and Bank of America.
In addition to the TOBY award, the 350 Las Olas Centre tower placed ninth out of 245 entrants in the 2011 National EPA ENERGY STAR® competition. The building reduced its energy usage by 19 percent over the course of the six-month competition from April 2011 to September 2011. ENERGY STAR was introduced by EPA in 1992 as a voluntary, market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency. In an effort to reduce that building’s energy use Stiles implemented a computer-operated energy management system, electricity-reducing technologies and lighting retro-fits.
The AutoNation Building – A tribute to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification it attained in early 2011, this building was awarded the coveted Earth Award by BOMA for meeting the criteria mentioned above along with an additional emphasis on sustainable policies and practices. The judges consider specific environmental policies including but not limited to recycling, energy and water conservation, indoor air quality and green cleaning, as well as emergency response and tenant education. Located at 200 Southwest 1st Avenue, The AutoNation Building is the headquarters of auto retailing giant, AutoNation. It is a 17-story mixed-use Class A office building with more than 17,000 square feet of ground-level retail shops near Las Olas Riverfront and six levels of parking.
Achieving the Earth Award and placing top ten in the 2011 National Energy Star competition is the latest step in Stiles’ companywide commitment to investing, building and managing sustainable properties. As one of the first property management firms in Florida to implement a fully-integrated sustainability program, Stiles maintains an extraordinary roster of 18 LEED projects ranging from new construction to existing building certifications. The company’s former headquarters building in downtown Fort Lauderdale—300 Las Olas Place—is Florida’s first existing multi-tenant office building to receive Gold-level LEED-EB certification. In addition, Stiles developed, leases and manages Lake Shore Plaza II, Broward’s first multi-tenant office building to be Silver LEED certified.
